May the Fourth be with you, and here’s a fun story from a galaxy far, far away about a practical joke played by two of the stars of “A New Hope” on an unsuspecting movie extra.
Years ago, a young Mark Hamill — Luke Skywalker — told Johnny Carson a funny story about how he and Sir Alex Guinness (Obi-Wan) took comedic revenge on one of the dwarves playing extra roles (Jawas, robots, etc.). The actor, an insult-based stand-up comedian, described by Hamill as “a waist high Don Rickles,” was a match for anyone on set with his jokes — except the great Alec Guinness.
The pint-sized comic in question, Jack, was both the admiration and frustration of his fellow actors. “You could never deal with the guy because you couldn't get a joke in — he was just too funny,” Hamill said. “One of his running gags was he felt that it was an insult that he didn't get a chair with his name on it, and all the actors in the film did. So he found this rock in the Sahara Desert, this big flat rock, and he took a piece of adhesive tape and put his name in indelible ink, and he carried this rock every location we went on in Africa. Before the truck could even unload our chairs. Well, we were he would already be there with an umbrella, little lemonade, some sunglasses, sun oil, saying, ‘oh, did your truck break down or what?’”
One night at dinner, Hamill found that the often reserved and serious Alec Guinness had a mischievous side. Anthony Daniels (C-3PO) urged Hamill to tell Guinness how Jack had expressed so much admiration for the older actor. “‘I am so in awe of Sir Alec Guinness, and I don't know what to say, because when I was a kid in London, I would go all over town on the bus to try and see one of his films,’” Hamill quoted Jack.Read Also: Bing Crosby, the ‘Squarest Guy in Hollywood’
When Hamill asked Jack if he had met Guinness while they were on the airplane, Jack’s usual joke-cracking came out as he said, “‘Oh yeah, he's a tremendous guy. When I got on the plane, he spoke to me straight away. He said, ‘Get out of my way’.” Hamill, realizing he’d been laughed at again, was eager for a really clever revenge.Read Also: Harpo Marx, Comedian, Musician, and Fighter for Jewish Rights
When Hamill was done with his story, “Guinness chuckled, and he sort of stroked his beard, and we were in a big dining hall, and Jack, this little dwarf, was over holding court — big laughs at the dinner table. And Guinness leaned over to me and said, ‘which small person is he?’” Hamill pointed Jack out and Guinness didn’t forget, as Hamill described:
Two weeks later, we're in the desert again … it's complete open wilderness everywhere you can look. You can walk with your eyes closed and never fall down. And Jack is sitting on his rock reading his book, and Guinness started very slowly walking towards Jack. And I said, ‘This is it. This is the day.’ And I kind of watched from the side. Guinness had the hood on, like that big Sorcerer's hood, and he's really ominous looking. And he kept getting closer to Jack and closer to Jack. And Jack started, like looking around and thinking, ‘Well, I'd better say something.’
So he was halfway off his rock to say hello. And Guinness pulled the hood back and said, ‘Get out of my way! Get out!!!’ and Jack, the blood drained from his face and he was shaking. He just looked all around, because you could go anywhere and not bump into him!
And Jack was certainly right about that! If ever “the Force” was with an actor, it was with Alec Guinness. Enjoy watching his performance as Obi-Wan Kenobi today and May the Force — or Fourth — be with you.
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